small business pr | Strawberry Communications: Writing & PR

Crafting the Best Media Release

February 29, 2016 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/wajusTqz_FI

I’ve written and spoken about how to write media releases many times (I even give away a report to new subscribers to my newsletter). I thought it was about time to revisit the topic because it’s even harder to get noticed by the media now than ever before.

Journalists receive hundreds of emailed media releases every day so there must be something that makes yours climb to the top of this heap. I’ll share some ways to ensure this happens with you here.

Make is newsworthy

The opening of your store or book launch is newsworthy to you, but not necessarily to a journalist. The local media will most likely be interested in this story because their audience likes knowing what is happening in their area, but to appeal to national and industry media you’ll need to do some more work. Think about why you are opening the store in that location – are you responding to demand for a physical store in that suburb because people can’t find what they need online? Or is your book answering burning questions or providing information no other book does? Drill right down to what makes your news interesting to each segment of the media (Hint: each media outlet will have a slightly different idea of what newsworthy is.)

Guest Post: Social Media for Small Businesses – Hone Your Self-Promotion Tactics

October 1, 2015 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

Business management consultant, author, and educator Peter Drucker said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it”.

As a small business owner or self-employed writer, you know the importance of creating your own future, and of using social networking platforms to do it. To an independent employer, social media is a necessity in the modern business world.

Luckily, the most prominent social networking entities understand their role in advertising and developed new applications and tools for those in the business of growing a business.

Johanna interviewed for The Mumpreneur Show

September 3, 2015 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

I was recently interviewed by Petra Jones for her Mumpreneur Show podcast about generating PR for small businesses, writing Business & Baby on Board and running a business with a family in tow.

Listen to the full podcast by clicking through below.

Filed Under: Business PR Tagged With: business, Business & Baby on Board, Business PR, Johanna Baker-Dowdell, Petra Jones, PR, small business pr, Strawberry Communications, The Mumpreneur Show, writing

Spring Clean Your PR Activity

August 27, 2015 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

The days are starting to lengthen, the temperature is rising and gardens are full of pretty blooms. Spring is definitely on its way and the change of season is the ideal time to revisit the way you communicate with your audience.

Throw off the sluggish wintery mood (or is that just me who feels like hibernating when it’s cold?) and think about the renewed messages you’d like to get across and how. I’ve put together a list to help you along.

Publicity: We’re well and truly into the second half of the year now, so consider any publicity you’d like to generate during the remainder of 2015. Are you planning to roll out a new product or service before year end? Do you have seasonal promotions in the calendar? Can you put together something in the lead up to Christmas? Make use of that spring on your step and generate some publicity that will carry you through until the New Year.

Communication: How have your messages been received during the year? Could your newsletter do with some sprucing up, are you utilising your social media regularly or is your website/blog looking a little tired? The words and platforms you use to promote your business and your own personal brand affects how prospects view you. If you have been trying to communicate with your audience using too many methods or in an array of places, it is time to trim what isn’t working and wow everyone with what has the biggest impact.

Networking: It’s easy to get into the habit of staying in when it’s dark and cold outside, but spring means that is no longer the case. It’s time to shake off that stale winter fug and meet some new people. Find some small business networking events to attend, enrol in a course or attend some business workshops to extend your skills. This goes for offline and online activity – it’s great to meet new people and reinvigorate your network in real life and via social media.

Are you excited to get out there and pep up your PR activity? I’m feeling pretty enthusiastic just writing about it.

I’d love you to let me know which aspect of your PR needs a spring clean – and what you did about it. Leave a comment below or share with me on Twitter or Facebook.

Filed Under: Business PR Tagged With: Networking, publicity, small business communication, small business networking, small business pr, small business publicity, social media, spring clean, spring clean your PR activity

How to Write Captivating Case Studies

May 28, 2015 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

Image credit: Unsplash.com

Nothing is better marketing for your business than the endorsement of someone who sings the praises of your product or service. And it’s even better when that endorsement comes in their words while taking people behind the scenes so they can see what actually happens in your business.

Case studies combine all of these ingredients, but are an underrated marketing tool in business for some reason. I’m going to show you how to create great stories that will get people wanting to work with you or buy your product now.

Show how your product or service is actually used by your customers by telling the story behind it. The media loves seeing how a business works from the customer’s perspective and it lets customers see how they can use your product or service, plus you get third-party endorsement from the customer giving the case study.

5 PR Hacks To Get Better Publicity for Your Business

April 30, 2015 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell 1 Comment

Image credit: Unsplash.com

Marketing your business can be hard work. When you’re not working in your business, you should be working on it, which means doing all things needed to make it tick along nicely and earn you a sustainable profit.

So in the interests of helping out fellow business owners who put their PR activity to the bottom of a very long to do list, I thought I might share some of my favourite PR hacks with you. These are a combination of tools websites and services I use to market client businesses, as well as my own, and I hope you pick up something that makes your life easier.

1. Social media – I’ve written extensively about using social media to promote your business here, here and here, to pick a few posts, because social media should always be part of your PR strategy. You don’t need to be across all platforms, in fact I actively dissuade clients from that approach, but picking two where your customers are and where you feel happy to share updates on a regular basis is enough.

Do You Have a PR Strategy?

August 7, 2014 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

In the past month I’ve been working with participants in the AusMumpreneur 6 Week Challenge to develop their PR strategies. I set them some questions to help organise their thoughts around promotional strategies for their businesses, and wondered if you could benefit from doing the same.

If you’ve never sat down and really though about your PR strategy then there’s a big chance you’ll go after every bright shiny publicity object on offer. I’m not saying you shouldn’t follow up great PR opportunities (I see excellent opportunities on SourceBottle every day), but if you have a strategy behind what you’re doing you have a better chance of staying on track and on topic.

So I want you to make a coffee or tea (or some other soothing beverage), grab a notepad and jot down your answers to these questions:

1. What is your PR goal? Make sure to include what you want to achieve and how.

2. What is your brand positioning statement – ie what is it that makes you and your business stand out?

3. What are your PR objectives – ie what do you want to achieve with PR? For example creating brand awareness, generating website traffic, building your customer database or increasing sales.

4. What is your promotion strategy – ie how are you going to achieve your objectives? For example using social media to build the brand, speaking at events and article marketing to establish your credibility, blogging to drive customers to your website or product launches when you introduce something new?

5. How will you evaluate your PR success? Look at your objectives to work out the various measurement tools. Obvious ones are increased sales, more clients, more followers and likers on social media or invitations to speak.

Now you’ve answered the questions, put all these ingredients together into a plan and put it somewhere you can see it so you’ll work towards your PR goals constantly.

I’d love it if you’d share your PR goals. What is at the top of your publicity list?

Filed Under: Business PR Tagged With: entrepreneur, PR goals, PR strategy, public relations strategy, publicity, small business pr

Mastermind: The Meeting of Great Minds

August 29, 2013 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

I first wrote about mastermind groups when I joined one formed with local Launceston business owners a few years ago. I have since joined Sarah Prout’s Sprout Mastermind and thought it was worth revisiting the idea of the benefit of masterminds because together we can achieve great things.

While it has now disbanded, several of the members in the Launceston-based Motivational Minds have since worked together on projects and in new businesses, so it’s clearly a powerful melting pot of possibility. I loved the opportunity to stretch my skills, be challenged by other members and consider new ways of doing things. And once the members of the mastermind group understood each other’s offerings, they became great ambassadors for the member’s brands.

So here’s my list of why mastermind groups work:

Put a rocket up your PR with the Make Me a Star program

November 4, 2012 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

Strawberry Communications founder and owner Johanna Baker-Dowdell has launched a six-week online group PR program to help business owners generate their own publicity.

When “…nearly 55% of stories analysed were driven by some form of public relations,” (Source: Crikey – Over half of your news is spin) business owners should be asking themselves if their stories fall into that category and, if not, what are they going to do about it, Johanna asked.

“If business owners aren’t selling their story to the media, their competition definitely is,” she explained.

Finding the Right Media for Your Business

April 15, 2011 By Johanna Baker-Dowdell Leave a Comment

The term media goes beyond the traditional broadcast mediums of print, radio and television, to include more interactive mediums like phones, computers, CDs and DVDs, blogs, vlogs, websites, online magazines and self published books.

When I first started working in the media 15 years ago, the Internet was not a research tool and I wrote articles on a small computer monitor with green text on a black screen. Things have changed so much in that time – some publications, such as Brisbane Times, are now published online only.

Crafting the Best Media Release

Johanna interviewed for The Mumpreneur Show

How to Write Captivating Case Studies

Do You Have a PR Strategy?

Mastermind: The Meeting of Great Minds

Put a rocket up your PR with the Make Me a Star program

Join Us on Facebook

Follow Johanna

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